The Ledge - Helpful Tips For New Ledgies

I noticed there are several new members here at The Ledge & I wanted to say hi & welcome. Maybe some of you have been lurking a while, maybe you just recently found us & jumped right in. Either way, you're in for a wild ride at times. But it's a lot of fun here.

A few things I've noticed lately that people may not be aware of. I am in no way trying to "play boss" or put anyone down. Just some FYI's:

New Threads: Before starting a new thread about a subject, please do a "search" of the forum you're in first. If there's already a thread about that particular subject, there's probably no need to start another one. This avoids having numerous threads about the same thing (some of you remember all of the "Vegas" threads last spring.) It can be difficult to sort through all the threads at times & this helps with that. It also helps when you can't remember what you posted where & you're trying to find your post/replies etc.

Posting: don't be afraid to post! Yes, you will read some inside jokes between members. Yes, people can be sarcastic at times. Don't worry about it. Several of us have been here for years & have met eachother personally, so this is to be expected. It can get vulgar at times, we don't mean to offend (well, most of us don't mean to, anyway. ;) ) Being silly or trying to out-gross eachother is one thing, but outright name-calling, personal attacks & putting people down to demean them is not cool.

I know it's hard to decifer who's kidding & who's not when you're new here - for instance, many of the gay men who've been here a while call eachother queens or homos. That doesn't mean it's OK for a straight homophobic male to start calling everyone a faggot & say they're going to hell. Get it? :shrug: And don't forget that posting IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is considered yelling.

Another thing - don't be worried if you start a thread & nobody replies. It doesn't mean nobody wants you here. :laugh: We may have recently had a thread just like it & don't feel like talking about said subject again. We may not have the answer to your question. We may not have seen your thread cuz it got lost in all the other threads. Nothing personal, don't be upset. Same with replies to threads - all of us have posted a "thread killer" - the last post of a thread that nobody replies to. Nothing personal - all threads must die some time.

One more: Please post things in the appropriate forum. General Mac questions in Mac forums, Lindsey thoughts in Lindsey Forum, etc. We don't need a "what's your favorite movie" thread in the Stevie Forum, please & thank you.

Smileys: some love them, some hate them. Just be aware that sometimes they can help get your point across & sometimes they can totally change what you're trying to say in a bad way. Example:
I LOVE that pic of you! You look great! :nod:
I LOVE that pic of you! You look great! :rolleyes:
I LOVE that pic of you! You look great! :laugh:

OR

You suck! :wavey:
You suck! :p
You suck! :mad:

It can make someone feel really good or like crap, see? Just be careful & think before you post. We've all said/written things we didn't mean, or were too harsh in hindsight.

Abbreviations:We abbreviate everything here, esp. song/album titles. TITN is Tango in the Night, BD is Bella Donna, etc. IMO is 'in my opinion', JMO is 'just my opinion'. If you don't know what someone's talking about, just ask them.

Now to all those who've been here a while. Let's try to be helpful & patient. I've recently seen several newer members make attempts to post only to be reprimanded, put down, called stupid, or ignored. Not cool, and it sure does contribute to the negativity & hostility people have felt here lately. I'm not saying everyone needs to kiss everyone's ass & say "hi & welcome" to every single new person here. But we don't have to be rude either. JMO. :)